JNS Reporter
Zenger, Jan. 6, 2023
“Recent opinion polls by the Israel Democracy Institute found a majority of respondents believe the Supreme Court should have the power to strike down laws that conflict with Israel’s Basic Laws, which serve as a sort of constitution.”
Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced on Wednesday a far-reaching program for judicial reform, with an emphasis on reining in the Supreme Court.
Levin’s call came as the Supreme Court was set to weigh in on whether Shas Party chairman Aryeh Deri could serve as a minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Deri was convicted of tax offenses in February 2022, and as a result Netanyahu’s incoming government had to amend a law to allow him to serve as a minister.
“I believe that not only the Knesset and the government serve by virtue of the public’s trust, but also the judicial system relies on the trust the public places in it,” Levin said at a press conference at the Knesset.
“The constitutional revolution and the increasing interference of the judiciary in the decisions of the government and in the legislation of the Knesset have degraded the trust in the judicial system to a dangerous low, led to a loss of sovereignty and severe damage to democracy,” Levin added.
“We go to the polls, vote, choose, but time and time again people we didn’t choose decide for us,” he said, reflecting the widespread view among Israeli right-wing voters that the court has expanded its powers to make law, rather than just interpret it.
Levin’s plan includes:
1. Changing the way judges are selected so that the Knesset members will have majority say on the Judicial Selection Committee;
2. Passing an ‘override clause,’ a law that would give legislators the power to reverse, or ‘override,’ the Supreme Court when it strikes down laws;
3. Abolishing the legal justification of “reasonableness” by which the court can cancel Knesset decisions;
4. Empowering ministers to hire and fire their own legal advisers.
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